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Cyprus RightsThe Republic of Cyprus claims the whole island, and owes every right that claim implies to every Cypriot. Cyprus Rights documents where that duty goes unmet for Turkish Cypriots — with sources.

Work and pension · Qualification for work

Recognition of qualifications for work

Report card / Work and pension / Qualification for work

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Qualifications from institutions in the north are treated by KYSATS, the Republic's recognition authority, the same way as third-country qualifications, because the Republic does not recognise the accrediting authority. In 2022 the Cyprus State Scholarships Foundation rejected a Turkish Cypriot's application for a state scholarship. One of the written grounds was that his degree came from 'an institution not recognised by the Republic.' Professional bodies in the south publish no figures on how many Turkish Cypriot applicants they admit or refuse.1234

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications; Article 15 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights

Sources for this criterion

  1. 1. Cyprus Council for the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications (KYSATS), statutory basis and published recognition criteriaA — primary / documentary · Republic of Cyprus, KYSATS · —
  2. 2. Protocol No 10 on Cyprus to the 2003 Act of AccessionA — primary / documentary · European Union · 2003
  3. 3. Equality Body report on IKYK scholarship announcements published only in Greek (files A/P 852/2021 et al.)A — primary / documentary · Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Equality Body) · 2023-12-28
  4. 4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24
Stated position of the duty-bearer — Original

Recognition is a technical function of KYSATS applied to the accrediting authority of the awarding institution; the Republic cannot recognise accreditation issued by a body it does not recognise, and doing so would carry consequences well beyond education.

— Republic of Cyprus, stated position as recorded in Cyprus Rights reference register

Status stalledWeight 3/5Score 10

Sources

  1. Cyprus Council for the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications (KYSATS), statutory basis and published recognition criteriaA — primary / documentaryRepublic of Cyprus, KYSATS · —The official website of the Cyprus Council for the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications (KYSATS), setting out its statutory basis and published recognition criteria.KYSATS official site and published recognition criteriahttps://www.kysats.ac.cy/index.php/en/home
  2. Protocol No 10 on Cyprus to the 2003 Act of AccessionA — primary / documentaryEuropean Union · 2003Protocol No 10 on Cyprus annexed to the European Union's 2003 Act of Accession.Protocol No 10 on Cyprus, 2003 Act of Accession, CELEX 12003T/PRO/10https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A12003T%2FPRO%2F10
  3. Equality Body report on IKYK scholarship announcements published only in Greek (files A/P 852/2021 et al.)A — primary / documentaryCommissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Equality Body) · 2023-12-28A report by Cyprus's Equality Body (the Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights) on complaint files concerning IKYK scholarship announcements published only in Greek.Equality Body report, files A/P 852/2021, A/P 2400/2021, A/P 418/2022, A/P 2362/2022 (dated 28 December 2023 per EELN citation) — documents a 2022 scholarship rejection citing an unrecognised institution among its grounds, and the IKYK chairman's statement that Greek-only publication is the standing practice of most ministrieshttps://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/ombudsman/ombudsman.nsf/All/4263D5E84B7AFE2BC2258AB300270C8B/$file/%CE%91%CE%A0%20852.21,%20%20%CE%91%CE%A0%202400.21,%20%20%CE%91%CE%A0%20418.22,%20%20%CE%91%CE%A0%202362.22.pdf?OpenElement
  4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open sourceCyprus Rights · 2026-08-24Cyprus Rights' own internal reference corpus of registers tracking Turkish Cypriot rights issues and the applicable legal framework.Cyprus Rights reference corpus, compiled 24 August 2026: internal/reference/rights-issue-register-turkish-cypriot.md and internal/reference/legal-framework-register.md. Cited for duty-bearer positions as the registers record them and for documentation-gap statements; each register entry carries its own underlying sources